Mountainspeak

There are many things that make the Appalachian Region unique, some of it is what I call mountainspeak. I understand that in sharing this I expose a lot of my personal heritage, and this is just fine…. Below are some ‘mountainspeak’ terms, words, phrases….. Some are the Carolinas, Georgia, and Tennessee. Virginia is not included because it is way up north….lol.

Some Common Caroliner terms……..

1. Youngin’ What it means everywhere else: Just a young person under the age of 18.
What it means in North Carolina: A young person under the age of 21 who literally can’t comment on the business of “grown folks.”

2. Snow What it means everywhere else: A light, flaky type of precipitation that falls from the sky every winter.
What it means in North Carolina: If it’s more than half an inch, the city is shutting down. Also, let’s just hope you get to the grocery store in time or you’ll be out of luck.

3. Blue What it means everywhere else: Literally just a color.
What it means in North Carolina: It’s still just a color, but you need to be specific. Do you mean Carolina blue or Duke blue?

4. Yonder What it means everywhere else: Literally no one else uses this word except North Carolinians.
What it means in North Carolina: Yonder signifies a location that’s so far out of reach you cannot even begin to describe it by any other name.

5. Bless Your Heart What it means everywhere else: A sincere, well-meaning phrase you say to someone who’s going through something bad.
What it means in North Carolina: A phrase you use when you want to be “nicety” (nice+nasty), but there’s definitely a shady undertone to it. Way more nasty than nice.

6. BBQ What it means everywhere else: Another word for grilling out.
What it means in North Carolina: A meat delicacy that varies by the region of N.C. that you’re in.

7. Fall What it means everywhere else: The season right before winter.
What it means in North Carolina: The best time of year for county fairs, tailgating, and football.

8. Sweet Tea What it means everywhere else: Brisk Iced Tea
What it means in North Carolina: A delicious homemade beverage with at least five pounds of sugar. And it tastes best in a Mason jar.

9. NASCAR What it means everywhere else: A bunch of cars going around in a circle for hours on end.
What it means in North Carolina: It’s a sport. It’s a religion. It’s a tradition.

10. Raleigh What it means everywhere else: The capital of North Carolina, part of the Research Triangle.
What it means in North Carolina: A place that makes you wonder why Charlotte isn’t the capital of the state.

11. Hey Y’all What it means everywhere else: Everywhere else this just means “you guys.”
What it means in North Carolina: A standard greeting for anyone no matter the age. It’s also used in maybe 90% of our sentences.

12. Late What it means everywhere else: Any time after 11:00 p.m.
What it means in North Carolina: Any time after 6:00 p.m.

13. 23 What it means everywhere else: The number after 22 and before 24.
What it means in North Carolina: Refers to the greatest basketball player of all time, Michael Jordan. Additionally, people sometimes refer to their 23rd birthday in North Carolina as their “Jordan year.”

14. Fixin’ What it means everywhere else: No one says this outside of North Carolina.
What it means in North Carolina: You’re thinking about doing something, but you have to muster up the strength to actually do it. Also refers to making food.

15. Downtown What it means everywhere else: A huge, exciting place with multiple skyscrapers, clubs, and bars.
What it means in North Carolina: A few big buildings and maybe two bars.

16. Dook What it means everywhere else: Probably refers to poop or someone’s name.
What it means in North Carolina: if its a basketball fan, especially if its a UNC Chapel Hill person, it’s word for arguably the most loathed basketball team on the planet

17. “Raise Up” What it means everywhere else: A cool song by Petey Pablo.
What it means in North Carolina: The anthem for our state. “Take ya shirt off, twist it ‘round ya head! Spin it like a helicopter.”

18. 336, 919, 252, etc. What it means everywhere else: Just a random three digit number.
What it means in North Carolina: Someone representing where they grew up. Shout out to the 336.

19. Frog Strangler What it means everywhere else? Not sure. What it means in North Carolina? refers to those pesky, torrential spring and summer thunderstorms that dump inches of rain in only a few minutes turning the stream you want to fish into something of a color that would make a Starbucks Caramel Macchiato or Pumpkin Spice Latte envious.

20. This Here or That There What it means everywhere else? Means you failed basic English and have not yet mastered the English language. What it means in North Carolina? Its the creative two word means of pointing out an object. “This here fly rod” is a great rod for fishing “that there creek” for them speckles.

21. Learn Ya What it means everywhere else? never heard it anywhere else. What it means in North Carolina? I m going to teach you something. “Come here son Im gonna learn ya how to catch them brown trout”.

22. Midgets What it means anywhere else? I think you know. What it means here? a really small fly, size 20 or smaller. I once had a customer come in and ask…”hey you guys sell any midgets?”…..to which I replied…”no, I think that would be illegal and immoral.” I was kidding of course but got a good laugh out of it.

23. “Tears from a Glass Eye…” An expression to indicate how sad something is. “That song is so sad it can bring tears to a glass eye.”